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Prime Minister Modi’s dinner meeting with US President

On 29 September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the White House for the private dinner hosted by President Barack Obama. After the meeting, both countries issued a vision statement “Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go” that called for a joint endeavour for prosperity and peace.

The vision statement said that US-India strategic partnership is a joint endeavour for prosperity and peace, and through intense consultations, joint exercises and shared technology, their security cooperation will make the region and world safe and secure.

Asserting that the US and India will have a trans-formative relationship as trusted partners in the 21st century, the White House said, “Our partnership will be a model for the rest of the world”.

According to the vision statement, the two countries will support an open and inclusive rules-based global order, in which India assumes greater multilateral responsibility, including in a reformed United Nations Security Council. Observing that climate change threatens both the countries, the vision statement said they will join together to mitigate its impact and adapt to the changing environment.

The US and India also committed to expand and deepen their strategic partnership in order to harness the inherent potential of the two democracies and the burgeoning ties between their people, economies, and businesses.

Underscoring that the currents of kinship and commerce, scholarship and science tie the two countries together, the joint vision statement said these areas of cooperation will allow India and the US to rise above differences by maintaining the long-term perspective.

Earlier, on 28 September, Mr Modi addressed the UN General Assembly and then appeared in New York’s Central Park before some 60,000 people at a musical event aimed at ending global poverty and bringing essentials such as sanitation to all.

On 29 September, at the Madison Square Garden, he received a rapturous welcome from a big crowd of Indian-Americans.

In a breakfast meeting with CEO’s of SME of the leading US companies, Mr Modi sought suggestions from the US business leaders as to how the investment environment could be improved. When some complained about unpredictable taxes, he said he was “committed to a stable tax regime” as this was necessary to encourage investment.

Mr Modi also invited the US BlackRock investment management firm to stage a major conference in India in 2015 to bring in big investors from around the world. BlackRock had said the event could bring in as much as $6 billion in investment.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, Mr Modi reiterated his WTO stance, saying that while India supported the trade pact, its demands for food stockpiles were not incompatible with it.

He stressed his campaign to encourage domestic manufacturing and India’s desire for US know-how, something US firms have been reluctant to share without stronger intellectual property protections.